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May 2008

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

Question, how do you think he Te'o would have done versus Alabama last night if he was the ILB on the Georgia Bulldogs? With their front 7 instead of Notre Dame's front 7? If we are going to judge someone based on the level of competition they face why not also consider the level of competition he is playing with?

I am not giving Te'o a pass for the missed tackles, but like Troy Polamalu he is going to get to a lot more plays than that of an average LB. Thus he is going to miss his share of tackles. The amount of splash plays he gives in return out weigh that to me.

If I was a team drafting in the top 10 and needed an ILB I'd still take him.

Dee--you keep wanting to blame ;last night on the ND defensive line so you don't have to acknowledge T'eo's warts. ND has a very good DL and they have been solid all season. They just ran into the big boys last night.

As I said, T'eo reminds me very much of Rey Maleuga coming out of USC. Good but not great. Alec Ogletree was much better against Alabama then T'eo and IMO I would pick him before T'eo from a performance level perspective.

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No need to argue if Te'o is a top 5 or top 10 player now. We just need to know if he's worthy of being a top 17 player. I still say yes. If yesterday's performance means he drops out of the top 10 and into our laps at 17, then so be it. Our defense needs a true leader that we lost when Farrior hung up his cleats. I disagree that Te'o is merely a product of the NBC hype machine following a couple of deaths earlier this year...he was on my radar as a possibily for the 24th pick last year before he decided to return to school for his senior year. Judging a player solely by one game is like putting too much stock into the combine performances...as fans, we tend to overreact to these things, but I have faith that our scouting staff sees more of a complete picture when evaluating a player. I suspect Te'o will be placed atop the next RuthlessBurgher mock draft at #17 (after I finally finish the other mock where I suggested we trade down twice).

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I am not spitting him over the fire for his performance last night. I have however not bought into all of the massive hype surrounding him this year.

ILB are just not that valuable in the NFL anymore. He is more "Demeco Ryans" and "AJ Hawk" than Luke Kuechly.

CB,LT,QB, and Pass Rushers are more valuable than ILB any day of the week.

I'd be very happy with a Demeco Ryans type. 156 tackles, 126 solo, 9 TFL's, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 INT, 6 PD's in his rookie year? Too me, that would be so worth a top 10 pick. And be flat out a steal at number 17.

Rob will you please honestly answer my question about how you think Te'o would have faired if he had the Georgia defense around him versus Alabama. Better? Same? or worse?

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

Question, how do you think he Te'o would have done versus Alabama last night if he was the ILB on the Georgia Bulldogs? With their front 7 instead of Notre Dame's front 7? If we are going to judge someone based on the level of competition they face why not also consider the level of competition he is playing with?

I am not giving Te'o a pass for the missed tackles, but like Troy Polamalu he is going to get to a lot more plays than that of an average LB. Thus he is going to miss his share of tackles. The amount of splash plays he gives in return out weigh that to me.

If I was a team drafting in the top 10 and needed an ILB I'd still take him.

I was under the impression that Notre Dame had a great d-line?

You do bring up an interesting point though. This is the problem that the Steelers and every other team has faced for the past several years. You may see a player that has had a great year and now you have to ask yourself...

Is he that good? What if he played in the SEC? Does a really good player in <enter conference here> equal an average talent in the SEC? In the SEC, these players are challenged week in and week out against some of the best competition in all of college football. In other conferences, they may only get challenged like that a couple times a year. When the playing field is so out of balance for some teams, it's hard to evaluate these players.

The same goes in reverse. Some have said Eric Reid was exposed this year. Is he not the player we thought he was? What if he played in the Big East? Would we still be questioning his ability? Would the easier competetion hide his "alleged" weakness? Obviously, to some degree, that is a yes.

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Originally Posted by Oviedo

Dee--you keep wanting to blame ;last night on the ND defensive line so you don't have to acknowledge T'eo's warts. ND has a very good DL and they have been solid all season. They just ran into the big boys last night.

As I said, T'eo reminds me very much of Rey Maleuga coming out of USC. Good but not great. Alec Ogletree was much better against Alabama then T'eo and IMO I would pick him before T'eo from a performance level perspective.

I'm with ovi on this one.

not trying to kick the kid while he is down, but last night was extremely troubling.

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Some bring up that Te'o is the next Malaluga type from USC and now others are comparing him to Ryans. What if, just what if, he's the next Ray Lewis type? Like ruthless says, he is a great team leader... Hell, I'd be happy with a young Farrior type and lets not forget he was 1st round pick too.

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Originally Posted by Dee Dub

I'd be very happy with a Demeco Ryans type. 156 tackles, 126 solo, 9 TFL's, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 INT, 6 PD's in his rookie year? Too me, that would be so worth a top 10 pick. And be flat out a steal at number 17.

Rob will you please honestly answer my question about how you think Te'o would have faired if he had the Georgia defense around him versus Alabama. Better? Same? or worse?

Do you really think that Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix are that far apart from John Jenkins and the Georgia counterparts? Nope, not talent wise.

Both teams got absolutely crushed by that Alabama O-line. Alec Ogletree struggled some, but made a lot of big plays against Alabama.

Te'o is absolutely a first round draft pick. Hell, he would even be a pick to consider outside the top ten for the Steelers. Doesn't make him a top ten pick.

Calling someone "Demeco Ryans" is not an insult by the way.

However, Demeco Ryans just illustrates my point that you can get plenty of pro bowl talent at ILB in the second round.